What If?
by DoomsdayTyler
Summary: What if, during 10 and Roses visit to the Sanctuary Base during The impossible Planet , they had escaped on the rocket with the crew, leaving the TARDIS behind, how will Rose and the Doctor cope with having to come to terms with their relationship?10Rose
1. The man with no face

12/01/2009 14:52:00

Set: During 'The impossible Planet' and its after (in one of the possible futures that spawned from this episode) the crew have made it out to a planet on the rocket.

Pairing: 10/Rose~

**What If?**

He didn't do domestic. So why was he sitting with his head resting in his hands, watching her sleep under thin bed covers and thinking about their futures? He had thought about them before, knowing that someday, somehow- either by force of by her own will, she would have to leave. That was before they had landed on the sanctuary base, and the TARDIS has been disposed of. Destroyed. He sniffed, trying to banish the thought from his head. They would find it again soon.

But would they really? It had…fallen. And they couldn't get it back without some sort of miracle, a sort of miracle that was very unlikely to happen. Especially now that they were on New New York, with no way of getting back to the space base. The Doctor sighed, his eyes peering around the hotel room that him and Rose were in, taking in the shabby curtains and the lamp that only lit dimly, the television that was slightly cracked and the crooked drawers. Was this what living a normal life would be like? He cringed at the thought of it._ Him_ having to get a job? It sounded insane. Another boring, day to day, job. He would have to use _public transport_- he would have to have a stupid, repetitive routine. He didn't like the idea of that.

But when he saw Rose shift in her sleep, he was suddenly aware of something else. There was no way they could be together, and it pained him to even think it. She was human, he was time lord, yet she spoke about them getting a house together as though they were a couple. No matter how much he wanted, sought, wished for that to become a reality, he knew it wasn't fair on either of them. She would have to find somebody else. His hearts leapt, and images came to his mind of her in a white fluffed out wedding dress, veil matching, marrying a stranger with no face. He felt something pull at his stomach, and a wave of hatred was sent in the imaginary mans direction.

Was she really going to leave him for this man with no face? Was he going to be standing at her wedding, not next to her, but in the seats, his hearts breaking one by one as she said her vows and melted into her new husbands kiss? He shook his head. _No need to think about that now_, he told himself.

So he watched her for a few minutes, trying to keep him minds of track, but no matter what he did, it came back to Rose. Rose Tyler, and what her life would be like in the future. She would grow old, she would die. And he would have to be there to see it, probably. The curse of the Time Lords. Well, he reminded himself, the Time Lord. Only one of them left now. He sighed, what was he going to do without his TARDIS then? With Rose gone, and his beloved ship, what would he do then? If Rose ever left him, that was. Would he fall in love with someone? No. He was already in love and that was the exact reason he couldn't tell her. And that was the exact reason he just had to let her go and live her human life with someone else, someone who could offer her the normality of growing old with her. The Doctor knew right then and there though, that he would never be able to let her go.

Rose rolled over again, licking her lips and falling silent. The Doctor looked at her sadly, before leaning forwards and studying her. She was smiling in her sleep, that beautiful and simple smile than he had grown to love. What if she didn't fall in love with some one though? What if she stayed by his side forever, and what if, by whatever god that might be out there's chance, she ended up marrying him instead of the stranger? What if it was him that she kissed, and she said her loving vows to? His mind full of images, the Doctor smiled. What if was something he liked to think about. What if was good. And what if, he learnt to become domestic?

**A/N: First chappy of this new fic! I'm still writing the other, don't worry! –grins- Just this was an idea I had, and I'll do a sequel if people like it! :D Thankyou and please review, I would love to hear your thoughts!!**


	2. Starting anew

* * *

Rose politely thanked the woman who worked at the hotel for their hospitality. She was with Danny, Ida, Zach and Toby, the only other survivors of the space base. The trauma from the past few days only seemed to be just sinking into them, the loss of their friends and the place they had called home for such a long time was gone, and all they had was each other. Rose had a heavy, guilty feeling in her stomach, even though she knew it wasn't her fault, it still felt like she had done_ something_ so it meant they ended up here. Zachery was at the doors, beckoning her over. She looked over her shoulder for the fifth member of their party, only to see he had wandered off somewhere. Her eyes dropped in sadness and disappointment, but she walked over to Zachery anyway. The Doctor probably needed some time alone.

'He just needs time,' Zachery said as they walked out together. 'He's just lost his ship, right?'

Rose nodded, 'Yeah, but so did you…' she trailed off, guilt kicking her stomach.

'Yes,' Zach replied with a sigh. 'I did, but that was just my job. I can always get a new one…'

'But…what about…the….others?' Rose muttered, wincing slightly.

'The others…' He sighed again, running a hand through his hair. ' You mean Scooti and Jefferson?'

'Yeah…I mean…are you going to tell their families?' Rose could tell that Zachery was trying to keep himself together.

'Right. Yes. I suppose I should do that….'

Zachery walked away from her without another word. Rose's eyes fell to the floor and she followed silently. Toby had disappeared of somewhere, he had been as quiet as he ever had been since they had came to New Earth. Ida and Danny were ahead of them, looking and tapping a screen on the sidewalks. She hurried over to them, peering down at the blue bordered bright screen. Ida was tapping at it without hesitation, her eyes shining with determination as she searched for something. Rose still couldn't get used to this; if people had put something so expensive and high-tech on the council estate where she grew up, it would have been kicked and graffiti would be sprayed on it within minutes. The fact that people just walked past like it was something normal still amazed her!

'Aha!' Ida cried, leaning back.

'What are you doing?' Rose asked,

'What are we doing?' Danny repeated with a laugh, his arms crossed and giving her a look that clearly said 'Are you stupid or something?'

'We're searching up our families.' Ida said, a smile on her face. 'That's mine right there- that's my mum, my sister, my brothers…'

'Oh!' Rose smiled, looking at it with interest. Ida's family all looked pretty alike, 'Does this thing like….know who you are by a password or something?'

Danny laughed, 'You really don't know much do you? Password recognition went out years ago. Too may people got mugged.'

'What, does this thing show all your…money accounts and stuff? Can you get money out of them?'

'Where have you and your boyfriend been living all this time?' Ida muttered, tapping at it again, 'Of course you can get money out of them. These things have files on your families- just so you can check up on them if your on holiday or whatever, they have video phones so you can call them, and they're basically a cash point.'

'But…well, what do you use to get into them?' Rose asked, still trying to wrap her mind around them. 'Can't anyone just get into your files?'

'No…' Danny frowned, pushing his jacket sleeve up' You need to use your code.'

'What, like a password?'

'Pretty much,' A voice said from behind. The Doctor was behind them, looking tired and a lot older than usual. 'Codes are a lot safer than passwords though. Codes are imprinted on the skin.' He nodded towards Danny's arm, Rose peered a little closer and saw something that looked like a….barcode on his wrist. It was in what looked like black ink, and had scrambled numbers on it.

'Do-do you all have them?' She whispered,

'Course. Got them when we were born.' Ida yawned, and started to look through of her family's files, the screen was showing a picture of her brother and had little information about them.

'Don't you have one?' Danny asked, and reached for Roses arm. She pushed her jacket sleeve up and shrugged.

'Not that I know of,' she laughed, looking up to the Doctor. 'Do I have to get one? I mean, if I get a job or whatever, and have to get money out…'

The Doctor was already in front of her though. Ida had stepped aside willingly and the Doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver out. 'This can fool anything' He muttered, and began to shine the little light at it. Just seconds later, a stack of credit sticks came falling out and he grinned. 'Perfect. 5000 credits.' He handed them out to each person with a grin on his face. 'Don't spend it all on sweets!' He laughed, then frowned, 'Though I could do with some jelly babies around now, I think there's a shop up this way somewhere….'

Ida and Danny were staring at him like he was crazy. The Doctor raised his eyes.

'Problem?' He asked, shoving his hands into his pockets as Rose looked at the credit stick happily.

'Uh, well…' Danny swallowed uncertainly, 'Is this what you guys…do? Just, go around and take money without earning it?' He asked, not knowing what to do with the credit stick in his hands.

'Oh-er- No, I mean, this is just a one off. This,' The Doctor pulled the sonic screwdriver out, 'Is something I was given to by the….' He paused, 'The shadow Proclamation.' He lied. Rose raised her eyes disbelievingly. 'Good one' she mouthed to him.

'Oh! Well- erm, thanks!' Danny replied, still not sure what to make of the situation.

'No problem. Maybe it can help you get back to your families…'

Rose nodded, 'And I'm sure that's something you all want to do right now.'

Ida was still staring at it, 'You've been sent by the shadow proclamation?'

'Uh, not sent, just, I have…permission from them. If I'm ever to find someone in help like this, then I have to give it.' The Doctor scratched the back of his neck, trying to make the lie more casual.

'5000 credits….you do realise how much this can buy though, right?' Ida said, eyes shining.

The Doctor nodded. 'Yup. Well once you get home I'm sure you could do with taking a year or so out, especially after what happened on that…rock.'

* * *

'That was really nice of you to do back then, Doctor.' Rose smiled at him as they made their way down the cobbled street. It really was like Earth. They hadn't reached the time when flying cars or buses or trains were around, and there were some species walking around that she had never seen before, but the layout of it reminded her of Earth. It was somehow homely even though she was still so far away.

The Doctor shrugged, 'Least I could do….feel pretty guilty about what happened.'

'Don't…It wasn't your fault. We just showed up at the wrong time and the wrong place.'

'As usual.'

Rose grinned at him. 'Well, we're alive, right? And its more fun that way!'

'Yeah. But still…' He looked at her sadly, 'We're stuck here now Rose.'

Rose's face dropped. She pursed her lips for a second, before smiling slightly. 'I know. But like I said, Its Ok, I'm here with you and that's all that matters.'

She turned around and walked into a small side shop she had spotted, instantly being hit in the face with the smell of fresh bread and coffee. The Doctor followed her in, not sure if he should ignore her last comment that was buzzing around in his mind, or confront her about it. He went with plan B.

'Hungry?' He asked, and she nodded.

The Doctor got them some pasties and cups of tea. It amused Rose that they still have tea in that day and age, and she was more than happy to drink it with a large grin plastered on her face. They were silent for most of their breakfast, occasionally the Doctor would start fiddling with the sonic screwdriver or they would share a joke. It was like they were sitting back in the TARDIS! But as soon as either of them thought of the now lost ship, their faces would pale.

* * *

They left the bakery feeling full in their stomachs but not minds or hearts. Something was missing, and they both knew what it was. It was their home. The Doctor lead the way back to where they said they would meet up with Ida, Zachery and Danny and beat them to it by a few minutes. They were near a park, and Rose made a note in her head that apple grass was there. It must have been on the planet for a long time, because she remembered that in the future (it was odd to think that) when she and the Doctor met Cassandra, apple grass was still there.

There was an eruption of laughter, and Rose looked around to see the Doctor and Ida joking about something. She yawned, her eyes on the Doctor as she thought about just what was going to happen to them. Would they have to get a job? The Doctor working a normal day to day job made her smile, it was just so… _not_ him. She knew he wouldn't live of getting money from the sonic screwdriver, because not only was it not….fair of those who had to work, well, he would get bored of not doing something. Would he end up travelling again? Chasing down trouble and meeting new friends, but just with no TARDIS? No TARDIS….that was still weird to think about. No TARDIS meant no time travelling. No time travelling meant no Earth. She wondered if she would be able to get back to Earth, but then realised that it had been abandoned, hence the fact they were on _New _Earth. This was home now. What would the Doctor end up doing though? Would he carry on regenerating? Would he end up leaving her here and travelling alone? She shuddered at the thought. 'I'm sure he wont leave me' she thought to herself, he wasn't like that. What was she going to do though? Would she grow old and have children with someone? Someone who wasn't the Doctor….the thought made her feel horrible inside. But she had to admit it was right, the Doctor couldn't stay with her forever. She could stay with him forever, but he couldn't do that for her. It wasn't fair on either of them if they…ever…had a real lovey-dovey relationship.

'We're going to stay here for a while..'

Rose was brought from her thoughts as Danny spoke. Zachery was at his side.

'Oh?' Rose asked, eyes raised.

'Yeah….I spoke to my mum and dad, told them I've got some money. Going to start over.' Danny smiled slightly, 'New start..' He muttered to himself.

'That's great,' Rose said. 'I think we could all do with a new beginning sometimes. What about you, cap'n Zach?'

Zachery sighed, 'I'm not a captain anymore.' His eyes were full of sadness as he said it. 'But….I aint got no family back home anymore. My sisters got a family of her own not far from here. So…I think I'll go see them for a while, try and reattach old strings.' He smiled. 'Bout time I did that really. I was always so caught up in work…but, now I've got a good amount of money to lay back on for a while, I can finally get back to living a normal life.'

Rose put a hand on his shoulder and smiled sweetly, 'That's the best thing to do for now I think.' She paused. 'Good choice.'

'Yeah well, I'm getting old…can't go on regretting things when I can do something about it.' He nodded at his own thoughts. There was a comfortable silence that followed it and they were all staring at the sky.

'I rang scooti's dad.' Zach paused. 'He's always been a real nice guy. He didn't say much. Just nodded asked me what happened.'

Rose looked at him, and could see his eyes shining in the daylight. She had to stop herself from crying at the thought of the young girls father hearing of her death.

'I rang Jefferson's wife, too.'

Danny looked uncomfortable. 'What did they say?'

'Jefferson's wife was upset with me. Told me it was my fault.' Tears were making there way down his cheeks, and Rose put an arm around the bigger mans waist, hugging him slightly. 'He was right.' Zachery muttered.

'No,no no no, he wasn't.' Rose whispered, feeling tears racing down her own face. She sighed. 'It was no ones fault. It just….happened. He died helping us. Its just…' She was cut of by her own thoughts. It was such a shame they hadn't been able to locate the TARDIS after all that crawling through the vents on the space base. The Doctor had managed to find his way back in with an almost dead Ida in his arms, and they had made decided then and there that there was no more time. They had fled from an adventure, one that they were sure that with more time they would have been able to figure out what was going on! Toby had been so disconnected from them all though, he hadn't wanted to go but at the same time had been begging to. Rose guessed he was just trying to come to terms with leaving his work station, but she also had a nervous though that something, _something_ wasn't right with the boy.

'Well….I guess what's happened has happened.'

Rose pulled away from Zach and nodded distantly at him.

'No turning back time…' Danny muttered.

'Funny you say that, Danny-boy.' The Doctor was once again behind them, Ida at his side. 'Because you've never been more right. No turning back time.'

Rose's eyes shone with unwanted tears again at the realistic tone in his voice. He was _right_.

She gulped. 'Time for a new start.'

* * *

**Okays! That's this chapter done, just wanted to get to the facts that Toby was still with them, but he's staying away from them too. He's ill, but not like…possessed anymore. Juts very ill. We'll get more to it soon. The Doctor, well, I'll read more into his thoughts soon. Just thought I'd keep him being…well, he's telling it how it is but trying to push the truth away at the same time.**

**Eh.**

**Weird! XD**

**Oh well, please review, thanks so much to you guys who have! I was soooo uncertain about this at the start but….well, reviews make me feel a little more better and confident about carrying on with the fics! And I thought I'd let the others stick around for a while too C: Ida does like the Doctor, but, he ovo doesn't like her back! Danny likes rose, blahahahaa. XDD**

**Enjoy!|**


	3. Finding trouble

"Now THIS," The Doctor exclaimed, hands in the air as he spun around in excitement, 'is a REAL room!'

They were standing in a large hotel room, decorated in creams and reds, a king size four poster bed was pushed against one wall in the middle, and there were some large glass doors that led out onto a balcony with a view over the city. Red curtains were draped over part of the doors, and there were two large screens on the walls- touch screens that were shining out at the guests brilliantly. It was spectacularly clean, the wine glasses that were sitting on top of the mini fridge were sparkling in the sun, and there were candles and flowers dotted around the room. Rose laughed as the Doctor ran around like a 8 year old, poking at everything in sight and then grinning uncontrollably.

'Brilliant!' He cried, still looking around in amusement, 'Absolutely brilliant!'

'They have chocolates!' Rose giggled, looking inside the mini fridge.

The Doctor was at her side in seconds, 'It seems they do!'

There was a rapping at the door, and Rose ran over to answer it.

'Hello!' She greeted Ida and Danny, 'Aren't these rooms just so _fancy_!?'

Danny raised his eyebrows and nodded impressively. 'Definitely,' He grinned, peering over to the Doctor with an amused expression. 'He seems happier. You two staying here together tonight?'

Rose choked on her own throat. 'Uh- No. I'm just here with him now, and yes….yes he does look happy, doesn't he?' she laughed. 'So, how's your room?'

'Its great! Same as this pretty much but a floor lower.' He moved over to the doors that led to the balcony. 'Same view, too.'

'How about you, Ida?' Rose asked cheerfully. Ida nodded in approval, but didn't say another word other than 'its nice.'

* * *

Rose decided she would explore her room later, for now she wanted to spend some time with the Doctor, try and get him alone so she could check he was alright. He was acting okay, but this was the Doctor they were talking about, he could act his way out of anything. And she _knew_ he was hurting. He wasn't used to this, having to live a normal life and all. At least she had some experience back on Earth with her mu….her mum. Oh dear. She hadn't forgotten about her mum, not at all, but she still had no idea what to say to her. She couldn't just _leave_ her on Earth, could she? But she had to…there was no way back. She blinked away the tears falling from her eyes that she didn't even realise were there, because she knew he would blame himself for it. It was no ones fault things turned out the way they did. It was just….it just happened that way. She shrugged her shoulders slightly, trying to banish the thoughts from her mind. They were starting over, and she would cross whatever bridge came her way when she came to it. And she would ask the Doctor about the 'super phone' and if it would work here later.

'Come on Rose,' The Doctor said, taking her arm and tugging at her sleeve, 'We're going downstairs to get something to eat.'

'Sorry, Okay!' She beamed, grabbed her jacket and then paused. She had been wearing these jeans and top for two or three days now, she must of looked a state! She frowned, and looked over to Ida. Maybe they could go shopping? She decided she would ask her later.

After a meal of rich and luxurious (and extremely expensive) food, the group of survivors were sitting around a round table, a bottle of wine in the middle of it and the waiter handing them a desert menu.

'I've never ate something as nice as that!' Rose laughed, sipping some lush wine and giggling more. 'I feel so posh!'

'_Bavarian crème puffs'_ The Doctor muttered. He was looking at the dessert menu.

'Ooooh!' Rose laughed, leaning closer to the Doctor on her right and peering at the menu in delight. 'I like crème puffs!'

The Doctor nodded impressively and chuckled at Roses behaviour. Humans, he thought, so easily drunk. He knew Rose wasn't completely drunk, but he could tell she was a bit tipsy. She was giggling at nearly everything anyone said.

'Hey, Ida! We should go shopping tomorrow, you want to go shopping, yes, me too! Then its sorted! Shopping tomorrow!' Rose said, grabbing hold of Ida's hand from across the table before she could say no and shaking it. 'Deal!'

Ida gave her a lopsided smile, and Rose sat back down with her grin spread across her face.

'Right! Sorted then!' The Doctor laughed, and Rose leant into him again. The waiter came over to them, and began to clean up some extra things as they spoke amongst themselves.

'I can't believe we made it…' Toby muttered. All eyes shifted to him. It was the first time he had spoke in a long time. 'We actually made it.' He whispered. The Doctor looked at him, a sad but happy look in his eyes.

'Yes, yes we did.' He replied. Toby's head snapped up and he looked around the group of people.

'Where are we?' He asked, as if he was only just aware of what was going on. His eyes wide, he stood up, and began to back away from the table. 'Where are we!?' He shouted, causing people to look up from their dinners in confusion. The Doctor stood up, frowning. Zach jumped from his seat and ran to Toby's side,

'Toby, what do you mean?' Rose asked, suddenly serious, and a lot more sober. Danny and Ida were looking over at Toby as if they didn't even know him; clearly confused and worried.

'Toby, listen to me,' The Doctor walked over to him. Just as he was about to reach him, Toby's knees seemed to give in and he fell to the floor with a 'oof!'

Roses eyes widened and she scrambled to his side, her arm around him in an attempt to stable him.

'Keep still, right,' The Doctor pushed his thick rimmed glasses onto his eyes from inside his suit, and pulled his sonic screwdriver out, clicking it in and peering it into one of Toby's eyes. He paused, pulled away, and looked at Rose.

'Rose, get away from him.'

Rose frowned, 'What? He's ill! I can't just-'

'Rose, get away from him!' The Doctor grabbed hold of her arm, tugging at her desperately. Rose gave him a look, catching his eye. Slowly, she nodded and pulled her arm back, slivering over to the Doctors side.

'What's going on!?' Zach demanded,

'Is he alright?' Ida insisted,

'Wha…' Toby was finding it hard to speak, something was pulling at his chest, his stomach, his face! He could barely breath, he couldn't sense a thing, the last thing he saw was the dim outlines of the Doctor. Then everything went black.

* * *

The Doctor paced the hotel room determinedly. Toby had been taken to his own room for a lie down, and the Doctor could barely trust the voice in his head that was telling him what his condition was. It can't be. His mind was working at a 1000 times per second, hoping and praying to whatever god was out there that it wasn't happening. Something must have happened on that space base to have caused this to happen, something that he personally knew wasn't even possible! A knock came from the door, and he stopped.

'Doctor?'

The Doctor opened the door, 'Rose.' He paused, 'Come in.'

Rose walked in with tired eyes, a worried expression on her face. She sat on the edge of his bed, staring at him for answers. 'What happened to Toby?'

'Toby…' He paused. 'Toby is ill, Rose.'

'What do you mean, Ill?'

'I mean Ill.' He gave her a warning look, and she looked away sadly.

'How come?'

'I don't know.'

'Bt you're a Doctor.'

They both looked up to see Ida in the door way, red eyed and looking extremely tired.

'Yes, yes I am.' The Doctor muttered, and nodded his head as to say 'come in' to Ida. She walked in and leant against a wardrobe.

'Is he going to be alright?' Ida asked,

'I…' He looked over them both, a sympathetic look in his eye that Rose knew all too well. 'He needs to get to a hospital. That's the only way we can be sure-'

'But you're a Doctor!' Ida pushed on, frowning.

'I know I am! But not that sort of Doctor…I'm a Doctor of science and just….look, he has to get to a hospital.'

* * *

'I'm very sorry sir, but you can't see him without-'

The Doctor held up his physic paper and waved it around in front of the security guard.

'Oh, of course, Mr…' The guard peered at the paper, 'John Smith. Please, go on through. They can't go with you though.' He pointed to Rose and Danny who were behind the Doctor.

'I didn't intend them to come.' The Doctor turned to Rose, 'Look, go to the café and meet Zach and Ida.'

'But I want to come with you!' Rose pleaded, 'I cant just go and sit down when I know something's wrong!'

The Doctor sighed. Sometimes she was a little _too_ stubborn for his liking. Or maybe she was just being a little_ too_ like Rose. He smiled to himself, but put a hand on her cheek softly. She tensed.

'I can't let you come in here Rose, you could catch what he-'

'What does he have?' Danny asked, frowning.

'And what if you catch it!?' Rose persisted, before the Doctor pulled her forwards into a tight hug.

'Time lord,' He whispered into her ear , then he pulled back. 'I'm just a little more immune to illnesses than you…' He stopped himself from saying 'humans' when he saw Danny standing there. Rose pursed her lips, but seemed to understand anyway. 'Right,' She muttered. 'Well, I want you back before tea, kay?' She smiled and gave him another quick hug.

The Doctor grinned, 'Sure thing mum,'

The guard let him through with a nod, then closed the door behind him. Rose looked at Danny and they walked away without another word, though they were both thinking the same thing.

_What was wrong with Toby?_

* * *

The Doctor started at the bed, arms crossed and brow furrowed. This wasn't supposed to happen. Toby was lying on the bed in front of him, sweating though he was unconscious. There were drips attached to his arms, bags with solutions of different colours at the other end of them, feeding Toby's body. A woman walked into the room from an observation room. She had a mask over her mouth and nose, and was frowning at the Doctor. She was blonde, slim and had glasses perched on the end of her nose. Her face was stony as she saw him.

'You cant be in here without a mask on!' She hissed grabbing hold of his arm and tugging him to follow her through the door. The Doctor tried to not find it amusing, so he put a firm face on.

'Right, sorry, erm' He looked at the tag on her lab coat, 'Mrs….Baxter. Baxter.'

The woman rolled her eyes and held out a small card, 'Roxanne Baxter.' She locked the door behind them and turned to him with narrowed eyes. 'What on earth were you doing in there? You could have caught something! God knows who else has already caught it….Luckily most the people on this planet have a lot of jabs already, should keep them safe.' She pulled the mask from her mouth and let it hang around her neck. 'Who are you, anyway?' She asked.

'Er-I'm the Doctor,' He waved the physic paper in front of her again and she read it quickly.

Her eyes widened, 'Oh! I'm so sorry, Mr Smith. Of Course you had permission to be in there, I just, I was worried you would catch something, and, well…I'll be being quiet now.' She muttered, blushes on her cheeks.

The Doctor wasn't really listening though, he was too busy strolling around the room and tapping at things here and there with a frown on his brow. 'What do you think he has then?' He asked, though he knew the answer.

'Er- well, surely you know? It was sent to head office.' Roxanne said,

'Yeah well,' The Doctor looked out of the glass observing doors, 'I've only just been put on the case. Was in the city so they rang in and asked me to come check it out, so I'm pretty new with this one. So, tell me, whats up with him?'

'Well…were not all too sure. It seems to be something a bit like the old Earth illness 'of legionnaires' disease' but there was a cure for that a long time ago, right? But we tried to give him that cure and that didn't work! And he keeps waking up, wondering where he is, the people who brought him in said they had just been on that rocket that brought them from that space base, you know the one that was on the news yesterday morning? Personally I don't believe a word of it, something tells me there's a lot more to the story that they claim. Anyway, apparently he was on that rocket, the one that brought them here? And he just….collapsed when they were having dinner. You'd think they would have noticed him acting weird though, but whatever, that's their story.' She paused, and sighed. 'I'm surprised none of his friends caught it, but luckily most people are immune to this sort of thing with the jabs you get given when born…the specialist team checked them though, they're all okay. Its odd, it only seems to have affected him.' She nodded to Toby. The Doctor didn't needing reminding to be honest, he had been one of the 'friends' who had been checked over for illness when the ambulance had arrived at the hotel. Not only him, it had been Rose, Ida, Zach, Danny and most of the hotels guests. Luckily they had only scanned their eyes and took some blood, leaving them all with little plasters on their wrists and a slightly blinding feeling in their right eyes for a few minutes afterwards.

'He didn't spend much time with his friends after they returned…' The Doctor muttered, his mind trailing off. Had Toby _known_ something was wrong?

Roxanne looked at him oddly, 'Have you spoke with them?' She asked.

'Er-Yes, I have. Nice bunch o' people. Specially that Doctor man, charming.' He grinned, then his face dropped as they both looked back to Toby. 'He's going to die then?' His throat felt dry at the thought of it.

'Yes….I'm afraid there is nothing we can do.' She winced slightly, 'And the saddest thing is that…well….he isn't aloud to say goodbye to his friends or family. He can record messages to them, but only if he gets into the right state of mind. He could die any time soon. We don't want to take a risk at getting to close to him for now though, his heart rate is a lot quicker than usual and he could be letting anything off. We cant risk him coughing on someone or people breathing in around him.'

'But other people have got the jabs, right?' The Doctor asked, thinking of Rose, 'And if they have them then they're pretty much immune to the illness?'

'Yes,' Roxanne mused, 'That's what the mystery is. How did he get it?'

'Well if people are immune to it then why not just let him-' The Doctor paused, then realized what he was saying. 'Of course. You wont take that risk because something _else_ is there. Something you can't cure!'

'She turned away. Bit her lip.

'Oooooh,' The Doctor grinned, 'You're not telling me something.'

'I know, its just…'

'What, something you cant tell the head of office?' He waved the papers again and she winced.

'His eyes.' She said, 'His eyes….they're….there's nothing that explains them.'

'Ah.' The Doctor nodded, ' Dilated. Red? I know, I saw them too.'

'What? When?' She pushed her glasses further up her nose as they slipped slightly.

'When you sent the images to…' He trailed off, realizing he had just slipped up. 'Lucky guess?' He tried.

'We didn't send any images of his eyes to anyone unless one of my comrades did so…and even so, they would have came and told me first! Oh dear- what are we supposed to do if top office finds out about this?' She was speaking at a 1000 times per second, breathing harshly in panic. 'What am I saying!? You already know! Oh dear oh dear oh dear!'

'Riighhtt,' He dragged out, 'And you don't want head of office finding out, why?'

'Why!?' Roxanne spat, 'because it makes us look bad, that's why! If we don't have a cure for something, that makes us look like we cant cope, and if we cant cope, then that makes it harder for us to get funding, and-' She trailed off. Then she looked at the Doctor. 'Wait, _lucky guess_?'

The Doctor grinned. 'That's right. Lucky guess, I'm full of 'em.'

'But- that's impossibly lucky!' Roxanne hissed, eyes narrowed. She put her hands on her hips. 'Who _are_ you?' She asked.

The Doctor tried to not let it on that she was sussing him out. He swallowed, 'Well,' He started, looking anywhere but at her, 'Um, you know who I am…I'm from top office.'

Roxanne narrowed her eyes more; 'And yet you don't know much for your position.'

'Well. I suppose…' He walked over to the phone, 'You wont mind if I ring them up now and tell them exactly what I've seen here? You know, considering I don't know much for my position.'

Roxanne's face paled. 'No! Wait- please, I can- I'm sorry. I'm just paranoid, its something that comes with the job,' She gave a shaky laugh. 'I'm sorry, please, put the phone down.'

The Doctor grinned and did as she said, placing the phone down. 'Sorry for the threat. All part of the job.' He mimicked, and she smiled slightly. 'Now, don't worry about a thing. I wont tell anyone in top office about this, because to be totally honest with you I doubt they would care anyway. They're full of it, 'if it cant be fixed then don't tell the public, it'll only cause more drama' and all that. So, tell you what. You don't tell them I was here, and I wont tell them about this eye infection, right?' He was making his way over to the door, ready to leave.

Roxanne tensed, 'But why wouldn't you tell them? I thought it was your job to find trouble here?'

The Doctor gave her his best smile. 'Oh, it is my job to find trouble, not to get people _into _trouble.'

'But what about him?' She nodded to Toby, 'What do we do about him? How do we cure him?'

The Doctor sighed. 'We don't'

And then he walked away, leaving Roxanne Baxter to stare after.

* * *

**Ahhhh it hurt me head writing this XD doesn't make much sense, does it?**

**Well, legionnaires' disease is a disease you can get on a plane because of the air around them or something like that if I remember correctly. And you die from it as well (apparently) and well, its catchable. Lets just **_**say **_**that Rose had the jabs in the TARDIS when they first started to travel, so she was immune to it. So that explains why no one else can get this disease, but Toby has it and they don't know why! The Devil/Demon dude who possessed him gave it to him as a sort of…. Payback for just leaving him there, and is still sort of in his mind, that explains the eye! The Devil **_**wants**_** to make it so the others will get this disease too, but the Doctor made it so he was in a hospital before anything gets out of hand. The Doctor is sort of thinking it through and trying to figure out just what it is, but can he get to the bottom of it before Toby dies? And how's he going cope with all this real life living?**

**Uhh….sorry if it makes no sense. Thanks SO much for the reviews! You know who you are, I'll reply to you soon when I get some spare time XD Thank you so much! :D **

**If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask!! Im so sorry if it makes no sense ! . I'll have more ten/rose in the next chapter, I just the idea of this being like a normal mystery sort of thing.**

**I'm so nervous about posting this . I'm real sorry if its just....gettings stupider and dumber and seems like it doesnt make sense!**


	4. Doctor Post Man

The Doctor found Rose sitting on a hospital waiting chair with Danny, Ida and Zach. They were all looking tired, bored and worried, and the Doctor didn't really want to worry any of them too much, so he decided to leave some things out (like Toby's eyes and the fact there was no cure). Rose was in mid conversation with Danny when he found them,

'Doctor!' Rose smiled, standing up and giving him a quick but meaningful hug. He smiled, returned it and sat down besides her.

'Did you find anything out?' Danny asked from Roses other side. The Doctor clicked his tongue, battling with his mind, trying to decide what to tell them.

'Did you?' Zach asked, his hands clasped together and propping his head up from an opposite chair.

'Well…I did, yes.' The Doctor said.

'And?' Ida persisted, from beside Zach.

'And….Toby's going to have to stay here. For a long time.'

'Is he dying?' The hurt in Rose's voice was enough to make anyone want to give her a hug,

'….' The Doctor looked to the floor, 'Yes.' He muttered, feeling everyone around him tense. He could practically hear Rose freeze in her seat, and Danny was staring at the wall in disbelief.

'Can we say goodbye to him?' Ida whispered,

'Uh…No.' The Doctor said,

'Why not?' Zach demanded, a frown on his brow.

'Because its too dangerous to be even in the same room as him right not,'

'But we were with him before! Is it something contagious?' Danny almost cried, standing up and checking his own body as if he would find some sort of disease just sitting on it.

'That was within the early stages of it. You're fine, you've all been checked over by the medics anyway. But Toby's in a different state of mind and body right now. He has no idea where he is half the time, and he's…if he even breathes onto you, you could be at the risk of getting infected. And we can't be doing with that right now, I'm sure you'll all agree.'

There was a silent agreement, though no one wanted to admit that they would rather be safe than say goodbye to their friend, they were all thinking it. Ida was the first one to speak in a weak voice.

'And you're sure we're all okay?' She asked, and the Doctor nodded firmly.

'You'll all be fine. Just….Toby was unlucky.'

'What about…how long has he got to live?' Rose whispered, her voice croaky and her eyes glassy.

'Its hard to say.' The Doctor said, 'It could happen today, it could happen in a few weeks time.'

'And no ones aloud to…touch him?' Rose asked, turning to face the Doctor with sad eyes. He only nodded in response, and took her hand, giving it a quick squeeze.

'But that's so unfair…' Ida muttered, 'Not being touched…'

They were all quiet for some time, Rose was leaning into the Doctors side, their hands clasped together. She couldn't believe that just a few days before they had been on the TARDIS, laughing and having fun together. Then they had appeared in a cupboard, and from then it had been one loss after another. Toby would just be…another thing they had to loose. She shuddered.

'I guess I should call his mother.' Zach broke the silence, standing up. Ida nodded slowly and watched him walk down the corridor. She looked at the Doctor sadly, then at Danny. She didn't even spare a glance at Rose.

* * *

The Doctor sat on his hotel bed, finding the room a lot less exciting than he had hours earlier. It had took the hotel some convincing to let them come back in ( they had to show them that they were all clear of any infections by getting another measurement of blood taken and another scan to the eye) but eventually they were aloud. Zach had stormed to his room, Danny had said a quiet goodnight and Ida had walked away without another word. Rose had said goodnight at her hotel room door, hugged him and told him to get some sleep.

Sleep. As if he was going to get any sleep knowing Toby was in a hospital room, confused and upset and not knowing what was going on while they were here, in these luxurious rooms. He sighed, and flopped back onto the bed. It was clean and comfy, but he missed his own bed. In the TARDIS. He shuddered. Boy, did he miss that old girl. He wondered where she was, if she was alone, and he knew she was ship, but she was a ship who had helped him in so many situations and had done so much good that…it was just hard to believe she was gone. He could think about that later though, for now he had to concentrate on Toby. Toby and his red eye. Toby and his red eye and his dilated pupils.

It just didn't add up. Dilated pupils happened due to being in the darkness, or when you had a stroke, not when you had Legionnaires ' disease! It didn't add up, any of it, it was completely irrelevant, and none of it made sense! He was barging through his brain desperately, trying to get to every corner of 945 years of knowledge, trying to get something out of it that would help him in this situation. It was as if Toby had just….been given this illness from some un known force, but how could he have when they were all clearly together on the space base and nothing had been wrong then!? It wasn't as if looking at the black hole had made him go crazy, right? Because surely he had seen it plenty of times before, and it wasn't madness he was suffering from! The Doctor groaned, and kicked his shoes off, he closed his eyes and tried to block the thoughts of Tobys illness from wrecking his brain. _Its not your fault._ He thought to himself repeatedly, because it wasn't.

But he wanted to do something about it.

* * *

Rose was the first one up the next morning, the Doctor found, as he was sitting in the main lobby when she made her way in. She was dressed in the same clothes she had been for the last few days, but her hair was looking fluffier than it had been, he assumed she had washed it. She threw herself into a chair and let out a long sigh, kicking her legs over the arm rest of the red chair.

'Morning,' The Doctor said, drinking some coffee. She nodded in reply, grabbing a pastry that were dotted over the room, in the middle of tablets in little cute baskets.

'Sleep well?' she asked, though she knew the answer.

'Didn't sleep atall,' He replied, 'You?'

'I slept all right…Just…' She paused, and looked at the wall, 'Its so weird, without the T-' She stopped herself from saying it, and swallowed the word. 'Its just weird.' She finished.

The Doctor nodded, looking away. There was a lingering silence over them, before they both said at the same time;

'Anyway,'

They both grinned, looking at each other.

'Anyway,' Rose continued. 'I was thinking…'

'About?'

She looked at him awkwardly, 'About…us.'

'Oh.' The Doctor paled slightly, the images of no-face marrying Rose screaming in his mind again. 'What about…us?' He asked, not meeting her eye.

'Uh, well….what are we going to do?' Rose asked, trying to hide the blush on her cheeks.

'Well…we could….live somewhere?'

'Like…together?' Rose tried to keep the happiness from her voice, and kept it as casual as she could.

'Uhm..' The Doctor paused, 'Well,' He said, 'Uh,' Things were getting more tense by the second,

'We don't have to, I mean, its just a suggestion,' Rose rushed out, her lip trembling slightly.

'No,no,no,nooo- I meant, Uhm, As in…well, if you wanted to, we could,' He swallowed, trying to keep himself from becoming more and more embarrassed, though he was failing quite epically.

'Well, um, Okay then.' Rose muttered finally. Neither of them knew what to say then, but Rose broke the silence with her brilliant grin as a thought came to her mind.

'Have you ever actually _lived_ anywhere? I bet you're always on the go!' She laughed, and he raised his eyebrows.

'I so _have_ lived somewhere before!' He protested, 'I lived in….uhm….' He paused, 'I lived in…' Rose grinned, 'I lived on the planet Tulipia once! Beautiful planet, shame about the people there.'

'Oh really?' Rose smiled, 'How long did you 'live' there for?' She asked, her eyes sparkling with happiness that hadn't been truthfully there for a few days now.

'Uhm…around….8 days. I think. Or 7.'

Rose rolled her eyes, 'You stayed with me over Christmas for longer than that!' She laughed,

'Hey- I….' The Doctor frowned. 'I did, didn't I?' He grinned.

Rose laughed, 'So, this is gonna be something new for you, then? Getting a job, settling down.'

'Ahh, don't remind me! Can you see me in a work uniform? I bet I would look good in one of those post men uniforms though. I've got the perfect legs for shorts,' He winked at her playfully and she doubled over with laughter.

'What about me?' She laughed, 'What am I gonna do? Go find a job in a shop or as a waitress! I wonder if they still have the same sort of jobs as….back on Earth did.'

The Doctor noted the sadness in her voice, even though she was covering it up, he could still detect it. He frowned, 'Look, I'm sorry I got you into this-'

'-Don't, Doctor.' Rose stated, her face suddenly serious. 'Its not your fault. Its not like, we're dead or anything, besides…Everyone leaves home in the end, remember?' She smiled.

'Yeah, but like I said, not to end up stuck somewhere like this.' He looked around,

Rose leant over to him and took his hand, 'Don't worry, I'm here with you, and that's all that matters.'

The Doctor smiled back at her fondly, though his head was screaming at him to stop this before it got out of control. But how could he stop something that was already happening?_ Had_ already happened?

* * *

Ida, after a lot of encouraging from the Doctor , Danny and Zach, had agreed to go shopping with Rose. It wasn't that she didn't like the young, gorgeous and slightly delusional blonde, it was just…they were such different woman, it was hard to find anything for them to talk about. Rose was a 20 year old who travelled around with a charming Doctor, and she was a 37 year old who had only fallen in love once, and that had ended up in heartbreak. Ida had never been someone to get along with girls, though, other than Scooti. But Scooti was dead now, and this Rose girl was just like a _replacement_, it didn't seem right. She decided she would try her best to get along with her though, because she needed to, for the sake of their friends, and the fact she was intending on staying her for a while. Rose has insisted on Ida buying some clothes that she herself thought made her look awful, but that could be something to do with the low confidence she had about her image. But Rose had somehow managed to get her to buy them, so they were in her bag now, sitting amongst various tops and jeans and dresses. It was hard for her to go around day to day business like shopping though, when she had become so accustomed to working on the space base, and the fact that Toby was lying helplessly in a hospital bed was also nagging at the back of her mind continuously.

Rose emerged from a fitting room, another pair of jeans that looked identical to any others she had bought on. She frowned at her reflection in a nearby mirror.

'Do you think these look alright?' She asked, though her expression gave the impression that she didn't.

Ida raised her eyes. 'They look the same as the other ones you had on,' She said. 'You should try something….different.'

Rose frowned at that. 'What like?' She asked,

'Like a…I dunno, a dress, or something?' Ida asked, not knowing why she was trying to encourage her to look even more stunning than usual. Maybe she was starting to _like_ her?

'A dress..' Rose muttered to herself, before shaking her head. 'Nah, I don't think so, I'd just look like an idiot, far too…girly and frilly and stuff.'

'No seriously, there's some styles I know would suit you, I'll help you' Ida smiled for the first time in days, and she couldn't quite understand why she was trying to help Rose out, but something was tugging at her stomach telling her to do it!

* * *

**Oohh! Quick chapter update before I go to sleep, I'm just trying to write this so it shows the doctors confusement, and Ida and Rose getting on a bit more! C: And also, Rose/10 sort of agreeing about what they're going to do in the future, sort of thing.**

**Oooohhh imagine 10 in a postman suit! Lol!**

**Anyways, imam off to bed now ! 8D sleepy time and then off to Starbucks tomorrow to speak with me mates about the manga we're doing, so maybe I'll come back with more Doctor Who ideas! Heee! Keep reading and please reviewww!**


	5. The Need to Relax

Rose actually liked this dress. It was short, yes, and it was slightly revealing, not to mention something she would of probably never wear back home, but she still _liked_ it. It was an ocean green colour,a halter neck that pushed her bust higher, but not in a forced way, it was a comfortable fit. From the waist line, the material pleated out over her hips, swaying a little higher than her knees. And it made her look….good. It made her look elegant. She tried to not sound too bigheaded thinking it, but she had to admit that it did suit her body. Yet she still felt a little self conscious as she stepped out of the changing room and faced Ida, who was waiting patiently.

'I told you!' Ida beamed, twirling Rose around so she could see herself in the mirror again, 'This style makes you look beautiful! You need to stop hiding that body of yours under baggy jeans and jackets.'

'R-really…?' Rose asked, even though she sort of knew it did anyway. She wouldn't go as far as the dress making her look 'beautiful' though, and the thought of dressing in anything other than her beloved jeans and tee's seemed a lot scarier than she thought it would.

'Of course!' Ida nodded, giving her a true smile. Rose returned it, happy that her and Ida had decided to come out shopping after all. It was helping both of them take their minds of Toby, and she did need new clothes while they were on this planet. Ida had lost all her belongings too, along with the others who had arrived on the rocket. It really was like starting over, and where does a girl start? Her wardrobe.

Rose and Ida made their way over to lunch after getting some makeup (and trying some purple gooey cream on that apparently took all the wrinkles from an unknown to both of them, alien species). They were sitting in a small café that seemed out of touch with the rest of the high-tech shopping area, decorated beautifully but it reminded Rose of something she would find on Earth in an old village. They ordered tea (Rose still loving the fact it hadn't changed so far in the future) and Rose settled on chips and steak, whiles Ida decided to have a salad due to wanting to 'loose weight'. When Ida told her that, Rose didn't let it lay low;

'Diets are boring though!' She rolled her eyes in her usual fashion, taking a sip of her tea.

'Yeah, but they're necessary when…'

'When what?'

'When you want to loose wait.' She laughed, 'Not really something you have to worry about,'

'Loose weight!? But why!?' Rose asked, suddenly more serious and frowning.

'Because its…'

Rose looked at her in slight concern. Ida didn't look like someone who needed to loose weight, she looked perfectly normal for someone of her age.

'You don't need to loose weight,' Rose gave her an encouraging smile. 'You should eat what you want,'

'That's easy for you to say,' Ida couldn't keep the slightly hint of bitterness from her voice, 'You're gorgeous, young and in a relationship, life isn't like that for me, I have to work hard to make someone-'

'I'm not in a relationship. And I wouldn't exactly say I was 'gorgeous or young'.' Rose interrupted, frowning. 'I'm just a normal girl.'

'But you are! Look at yourself, your smile and your eyes, and the relationship you have with the Doctor. It all seems so perfect, I…' Ida trailed off for a second before clearing her throat, 'I cant help but feel jealous…'

Rose looked at her slightly sympathetically; is this was all the awkwardness between her and Ida had been about? She smiled weakly, but couldn't just accept what she had said, especially considering she thought her life was so 'perfect'.

'Its not perfect, Ida…' Rose pursed her lips as a waiter placed a plate down in front of her, and she smiled with thanks. 'I'm not perfect, and my life isn't either- sure, I have a good friendship with the Doctor, but I'm never going to have the love life you could have with someone else with him.'

'What do you mean by that?' Ida asked,

_Well, he's 945 years old and never dies, there's no way we can ever fall in love because it would just end in heartbreak, and I'm just going to keep on being replaced once I'm dead, and it hurts just a little bit to even think about that but I can't tell him that due to not wanting to hurt his feelings. _

'Its just complicated.' Rose summed up with a small smile. When Ida didn't return it, she took her hands and clasped them over Ida's fondly. 'What makes you think you cant have the perfect life for yourself though?'

'Because…its hard to start over when your as old as I am,' she laughed at herself slightly, trying to cover her embarrassment. Rose raised her eyes in disbelief.

'Its never too late to start over,'

'But how do I do that when…I'm y'know, I don't know where to start.'

'Start here!'

'I can't just start here like,' she clicked her fingers, 'that! I need to….well, find some one to start with.'

Rose grinned, 'Well, start with us then. With me, Zach, Danny and The Doctor. Things will get better sooner or later, I promise, its just going to be hard, especially being so far away from h-' Rose paused, realising that this was actually where Ida was from already, it was only her and the Doctor who were away from home. ' Especially with everything going at the moment, with Toby and all that….but things will get better,' She grinned, thinking that maybe she should take up counselling as a job.

Ida was still frowning though.

'Look, we all have insecurities about this sort of thing at times' Rose said after a few minutes of silence, 'but what would life be like if we only lived it with them in mind? I used to feel a lot like I couldn't get anywhere, but then I met the Doctor and…things changed.'

'Are you and the Doctor in love?'

Rose nearly choked on her drink at the question Ida had just asked. She blinked several times, clearing her throat and tried get her breathing back in tact.

'N-No, no-' She laughed slightly. 'No, were not.' She tried to keep the sadness from her voice, and smiled again. Ida smiled back, saying nothing more than 'Oh, alright.'

Rose was glad when Ida didn't bring her and the Doctors relationship up again, it was something that made her pretty upset to talk about. When ever she spoke about it she ended up feeling a lump in her throat, and she would have to remind herself it would never happen with him. Rose wanted to concentrate on getting Ida's confidence up for the day anyway, so when they were on a bus (well, she assumed it was pretty much a bus even thought it looked different, had different races on it and it dropped people off at different stops- Rose had been to shy to ask for a ticket so she made Ida do it.) she turned to Ida, who was looking at her lap thoughtfully.

'So, are you going to…try and do what we spoke about at lunch then?' Rose asked with a smile.

'Maybe…' Ida muttered, 'I'm going to need to get a house though. And a job. And I could do with a relationship.'

Rose grinned, 'that's the right way to think about it! Tell you what, once we've all had a little bit of a rest and recover from all the chaos of the last few days, why don't we all go out for a night or summat'?'

'I don't know…'

'You could end up meeting somebody! You never know!'

Ida smiled shyly, and shrugged slightly. 'Maybe.'

Rose smiled to herself, knowing she had won her over. Maybe they were stuck on this planet, but at least it looked a lot like Earth – minus the aliens walking around- and at least there were humans around still, and at least she wasn't alone here. At least she had the Doctor, Danny, Zach and Ida as her friends. Things were going to be okay.

The Doctor hated this. It was _so_ boring. He was actually sort of hoping to hear someone scream in the background just so he could go running and save them, then go off on some adventure in tracking down the reason behind it all. But no. He was sat here in the hotel lobby, staring at the wall and thinking about what he wasn't doing. Which was sitting on the TARDIS, taking Rose to every planet and keeping her happy. It was depressing. He had got her stuck here, and it would be okay but she was just being fine with it! It would probably help him if she just came straight out and shouted at him or blamed him for something, but she seemed to be just keeping whatever emotions she had inside. Something she did a lot.

He stood up with a sigh, deciding to give Zach and Danny another call to check on Toby again. The only reason he didn't go to the hospital himself was because he couldn't stand it there, he had always hated hospitals. Especially considering he knew that in the future the very hospital he was calling would one day be keeping thousands of diseased people underneath it just so they could cure others. No worries there though, for him and Rose would fix it when that time came. His jaw tightened slightly at the memory of it. It seemed so long in the past yet it was so far in the future, it hurt to think that he would have to live to see it all again. He would have to keep on living, growing older and…

He shook his head of the thoughts, grabbing the phone from the wall harshly and pushing it to his ear , pressing the numbers on the pad and staring at the screen in front of him. A nurse with horribly patterned scrubs appeared, and he gave her one of his best grins;

'Hello Miss…' He looked for a name tag, 'Miss Ellin! Nice name, originates from the-' He stopped when he saw her stern face, 'Right, sorry' He laughed, 'I'm looking for a friend of mine- names Danny, black hair,-'

'Doctor?'

The Doctor grinned as the man in question stepped into the frame. 'That would be the one I'm looking for! Hello there Danny, nice timing!'

'Yeah well, we were just about to leave and I sort of heard your voice. Anyway. What's up?' Danny asked, the nurse leaving his side.

'Just wondering how Toby was.' The Doctor said, 'I'm guessing he's still locked in his little cellar-'

'Oh no, actually, he's apparently getting better- but well, he is still inside his room, we're not aloud to see him, but apparently that Roxanne chick said we could see him in a few weeks, maybe less'

The Doctor seemed surprised by the news, but he smiled nevertheless. 'Really!? That's brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Right. Well, I'll see you later then. Got to go, duty calls!' But even before Danny could reply, the Doctor had hung up and had a frown on his face. There was no way Toby could be getting better that quickly. He furrowed his brow, and was about to head towards the hospital when he heard eruptions of giggles. He looked towards the door, and grinned when he saw Rose and Ida stumbling in with bags loaded up in their hands.

'Doctor!' Rose called, running to his side and dropping some of the bags so she could give him a hug.

'Hey yourself!'

'Guess what we got?'

'Hmm. Clothes. Tops, skirts, jeans, sunglasses! Brilliant little invention there- helped a lot of people when the sun expanded- anyway. Um, what else? Maybe you got some makeup! I bet you did, you had tons of that stuff.'

'Wow, he's sure good at guessing.' Ida smiled, sitting down in one of the lobby chairs.

'He is indeed,' Rose laughed, before sitting down with the Doctor, the bags at her side. 'Any word on Toby?' She asked, concern dripping in her voice.

'Yeah, Danny said he's getting better, but…' He paused, looking over the concerned looks on both Rose and Ida's face,

'But what?' Rose asked, in a voice so small it was barely audible. 'Doctor?'

'Nothing,' The Doctor grinned. 'But nothing. He's getting better, but we can't see him yet, that's all.'

Rose and Ida both looked at each other before letting out small sighs of relief.

'So, what are you two ladies going to be doing for the rest of the day?' The Doctor asked, grabbing for a piece of fruit from the bowl in the middle of the nearest table.

'Was just gonna…' Rose pursed her lips thoughtfully, 'I dunno, actually. What shall we do? What're you gonna do?' She asked the Doctor.

'To be honest I have no idea either! Its odd, this is.'

'What? I'm surprised you two aren't happy to have some time to relax!' Ida laughed,

The Doctor and Rose looked to each other, actually considering what she had just said. Maybe they did need to relax, just spend some time together with out being chased by a three headed alien, or being locked in cellars with werewolves. Rose did her usual 'She's got a point' face, and the Doctor had to agree. Relaxing could be boring, but maybe relaxing with Rose would be _nice_? Even though he knew that they would be living here- he thought that maybe they could treat themselves to a few days 'vacation'.


	6. Stay with me

* * *

It was 2am when Rose was woke up the next morning, or the next day, she wasn't that sure . She squinted as the lights clicked on, and rolled out of bed, stumbling towards the door. Yawning, she yanked it open, fully surprised when she was engulfed in the arms of someone. Her heart leapt, and she even felt slightly panicked for a second- before she felt the familiar fabric of the Doctor's suit, and the recognizable hug she was now returning. The Doctor pulled back before she could relax into it though, and practically danced into her room, a phone in his hand.

'I did it!' He said enthusiastically, waving the phone in front of her. Her heart jumped again, and she was suddenly very aware of what he was saying.

'How!?' Rose almost squealed,

'I told you, I just needed some time on this thing! The sonic screwdriver helped me out a lot, of course! But with my oh-so-amazing skills and brilliant brain, I was able to make it so it can reach Earth, and' He shoved the phone into her hand, 'In the right year!'

'Seriously!? I can ring my mum!?' She grinned in excitement, and the Doctor nodded eagerly. It was then that realisation drew on Rose. She suddenly felt a little nervous, what would her mum actually say? It couldn't be helped, she knew, but not actually being there to see her mum when she told her was…unsettling. She glanced at the Doctor, who was grinning stupidly and she winced. Would her mum blame him? She hoped she wouldn't, but….she sort of knew she would. It was already getting him down enough, thinking that this was all his fault- if someone told him that it was it would just make him feel even guiltier. Maybe she should ring her mum when she's alone. Think through what to say to her? She offered the Doctor a small smile back before putting her thoughts into words.

'I think I should call her….in the morning. She'd just be tried and upset if I were to do it now..'

'Oh…Right,'

Rose felt her stomach twist in guilt.

'Its not that- Its not like I'm not grateful, I mean, y'know, it musta' took so long to get this working, but, well-'

'Jackie's gunna kill me, isn't she?' The Doctor asked, concern written on his face. Rose opened her mouth to say something comforting, but couldn't really think of much and ended up looking a bit like a fish, opening and closing her mouth every few seconds.

'Its okay. I don't mind hearing what she has to say. Just give her a ring,'

'But its 2am.'

'Rose.'

She sighed, and she knew she had to do this. There was no point in putting it off, it would come sooner or later. She didn't know what to say though! She had been hoping since they had gone out of range of any sort of signal on the phone, that she would be able to get it back- and yet here it was, fully charged and ready for her to ring her mum with, and she had no idea what to say! She should have thought this through better. Rose pursed her lips, she had learnt to take your chances while you have them, this phone could stop working by the morning for all she knew- then what would she do? Sighing, she ran her fingers over the numbers and took a deep breath. She dialled her mums mobile.

The Doctor watched as Rose held the phone to her ear, waiting for Jackie to answer. He could practically hear her heart thumping, and he reached forwards and took her free hand subconsciously- she didn't seem to notice though. He couldn't tell if he felt more scared or more guilty- he had never really been afraid of Jackie ( her cooking; yes, her; no.), it was just something he liked to put on around her. Sure, she was pretty annoying, but she seemed to have done a good job bringing Rose up without Pete, and she was after all, just a concerned mother when it came down to it. But now he was actually scared, because he knew (after a few visits to her flat and chats with her) that she actually liked him…as long as he brought her only daughter back home. He winced. He had faced aliens of all sorts, monsters, and nightmares! But none of them would compare to Jackie Tyler when she found out what he had done to her daughter. None of them.

'What time do you call this!?'

The Doctor looked up at the all too familiar high pitched voice of Jackie from the other end of the phone. Rose glanced at him, then back to the space in front of her.

'M-mum?' She said in a quiet whisper,

'Oh hello Darlin! I shoulda' known it was you, callin' at this hour n' all. Was wonderin' when you'd be comin to visit actually, not that I don't mind n' all- I just need to arrange it, can't have that blue box thingy appearin' in the middle of me front room when Howards over, can I?' She asked, tutting.

'N-no,' Rose said, smiling a watery smile. 'No you can't mum.'

'Right, well, you do know what time it is don't ya!? And don't tell me- you're on a different planet so you didn't realise the time changes or whatever. You could've checked! Mind, not that I don't mind you ringin' love, it's just I've got to be up early in the morning. Howards takin me- You all right, Rose?'

The Doctor had realised before Jackie that Rose was crying though. All the excitement of fixing the phone was gone, the only reason he had been so happy about it was because he thought she'd be excited over it- which she had- but he hadn't actually thought about how much this would hurt her as well. All he could do was squeeze her hand lightly, trying to silently tell her he was there.

Rose was sniffing, trying to catch her breath as she spoke. 'M-Mum, I- I won't be able to…'

'What is it!? Rose! What's he done now?'

The Doctor had a sneaky suspicion that 'he' was him.

'Mum-' Rose managed to say, whipping her eyes. 'Mum I won't be to-' Her voice cracked again.

'Rose, please, baby, tell me what's up!'

'I can't- I can't…' Rose whispered through her tears. 'I can't come home anymore mum.'

* * *

After a lot of tears, a few arguments and good telling off for the Doctor, Jackie had finally let sleep get the best of her. She made sure they agreed to ringing her at least once a day ( 'You're not out fighting aliens every day so now you have no excuses!') and had told the Doctor he was a very lucky man that he was so far away from her. The Doctor had silently agreed. Rose had collapsed onto her bed, red eyed and exhausted as soon as Jackie had hung up. The Doctor wasn't too sure what to do. He hated things like this; watching people being upset, saying goodbyes, he usually avoided them- but this was something he knew he couldn't of avoided. It was, after all, his fault. He was glad for one thing though; Jackie didn't blame him. At first she had, but Rose had repeatedly explained to her what had happened ( 'He dragged you out there in the first place!' Jackie would say to that, Rose would merely tell her it was her choice to go, not his. ) and in the end, Jackie had given in to her daughters explanations and agreed that it was just unlucky. That didn't stop her from threatening the Doctor from across the universe, of course. The Doctor looked down at Rose as she buried her head into her pillow, he knew she was trying to be strong when he was there- he had watched her fall to piece many times when she didn't realise he was looking. It still hurt just as much now as it did then. He smiled sadly, finding it only right for him to leaver her to sleep, he headed towards the door quietly.

'Doctor?'

He looked over his shoulder, eyes raised.

'Hm?'

'Stay with me tonight.'

* * *

**Kayyy. So. I know i was all 'Lol lets have em relax' in the last chapter, buuuutt i thought it would be only natural for Rose to need to speak to her mum, and for the Doctor to have helped her and whatever. This is meant to be the night after the chapter before btw |: Just some little....i dunno, just a little random chapter based on Jackie finding out I guess. Hmm.**

**Well, i'll get back to letting them relax next chapter and more on Toby will be found out soon! Hee! 3**

**Thanyouthankyouthankyouuuuuu to the reivews i've had! They make me so so so sooooo happy!!! :D**

**I will need to do a call out to some people in the next chapter (its hard for me to access them and i don't want to get the names of any reviewers wrong!! ;;) so please, keep reviewing and i'll give you melons! C: If you don't like melons...**

**I'll give you chocolate!! 8D *sparkly eyes* 333 xDD**

**Ok, enough of my lets-attempt-to-be-cute-time, thanks so much to everyone, i really mean it!! *o***


	7. The morning after

Her arms wrapped round his waist, and head resting on his chest, Rose had fallen asleep on the Doctor. With his back propped up against the pillows, he was watching her. The Doctor didn't sleep much; he usually spent the nights working on something to just to pass the time, but this seemed to be a fine substitute for that. He had watched her sleep plenty of times, sometimes she would fall asleep in the control room on the TARDIS, his coat draped over her as he continued to tinker with something here or there. But this was different….he wasn't just checking up on her every 20-30 minutes, he was actually watching her properly. She looked so peaceful when she slept, it made him smile. It was odd to see her so still; she was usually full of energy and couldn't stay in one place! He hugged her to him a little more, wondering just they had gotten into the position to start with. When Rose had asked him to stay with her, he had felt a little resentful; not because he didn't want to, but because he wasn't sure if he _should_. But of course, one look in her brown eyes and she had won him over. She had also fallen asleep instantly, after telling him to lie next to her. It hadn't exactly been embarrassing, it was just….awkward, for him anyway. It felt odd to be able to hold her like that; going against everything he had promised himself about how he would try to keep his distance from her in situations like this. He wanted her to be happy, to find some one who could love her back, some one like a human who didn't have two hearts and wouldn't live forever. It would hurt him like hell, sure, but if the end result was her being happy, it would be worth it.

Yet here he was. Hugging her closely and feeling so guiltily elated about it.

The Doctor was ripped of his thoughts as he heard a soft knocking at the door, frowning, he peered at the clock on the wall and was surprised to see how much time had passed. It was 10am. Rose had fell asleep at around 5…he must've been thinking for some time now. He gently moved Rose's arms from his waist, and with a burst of energy he jumped to his feet and bounded to the door. Yanking it open he came face to face with none other than Danny.

'Danny-boy!' The Doctor grinned, 'How can I help?'

Danny seemed taken aback by him though. It was then that the Doctor remembered he was in Roses room. And Rose was asleep on the bed. It might look a little suspicious.

'Uh- I came to see Rose. Is she awake?' Danny peered over the Doctors shoulder, but the Doctor stepped aside to let him in instead.

'She's sleeping. Managed to get through to her mum last night.'

'Oh? Is she going to visit her?' Danny asked casually, leaning against the mini fridge. The Doctor and Rose hadn't ever explained to the group the truth about where they were from. Not like they would actually believe that he was the last of the time lords, and she was from the original Earth anyway. So they had ended up making a nice little story up about how they were from a planet not too far from them that the Doctor knew invited humans just as much as New Earth did, and that they were travelling around and stumbled upon their sanctuary base by accident.

'Nah,' The Doctor yawned, 'Not for a while, anyway.' He said, not wanting to sound like Rose and her mum didn't care about each other. Wanting to avoid the topic, he decided to change it all together. 'So, what're you doing her anyway?'

'I- uh, Nothing much. Just thought I'd come and see Rose for a while- unless you're planning on doing something today?' Danny replied, his cheeks flushing. The Doctor raised his eyes disbelievingly. Somehow he had seen this coming.

'Ah,' He said, 'Ah, well, I don't really know when she's planning on waking up. She isn't exactly a morning person. But,' The Doctor paused, ' I don't think she has any plans today.'

'Really?' Danny muttered, his eyes falling on Rose.

'Yeah,' The Doctor felt something pull at his stomach. He didn't exactly feel _jealous_ of the fact that maybe Rose and Danny would be spending the day together. He cleared his throat, attempting to shrug the feeling off but not really getting anywhere. 'She's all yours,' He grinned falsely.

'That's not what I-'

'Doctor?'

Both Rose and Danny looked at Rose, who was sitting up in the bed, rubbing her eyes and yawning. She snapped her eyes open and stared from the Doctor, to Danny. Then she grinned.

'Morning!' She called, running a hand through her hair.

'Morning yourself!' The Doctor replied, 'You sure can sleep. Look at the time!'

She did so, and her eyes widened. 'Its 12! How- Oh,' She blinked, 'Oh right, last night- mum.'

The Doctor suddenly wished he hadn't mentioned that. She was pulling a face thoughtfully.

'Anyway,' He said, 'What're you gonna do today then?' He asked, hoping it would distract her from any thoughts of her mum.

'I dunno, what about you guys?' She looked from the Doctor to Danny,

'Well,' The Doctor gazed at Danny. 'Well, I'm going to go work on some- uh, stuff. Danny here, 'He clasped his hands on Danny's shoulders and grinned, 'Is willing to spend time with you!' He gave her a wink that she rolled her eyes to.

'Sure, whatever,' She yawned and stood up, ' You best not spend the whole day working on whatever it is you're doing!' She whined deliberately, sounding like a mother who hardly got to see her child but grinning at the same time. 'Why don't we go somewhere tonight? All of us?' She asked, the sudden thought popping into her mind as she brushed her fingers through her hair. 'Somewhere nice, Y'know? Like- Like club or something, Ida and Zach should come along too!'

Neither the Doctor or Danny seemed too enthusiastic about that.

Rose rolled her eyes,' Look, we all need to cheer up a bit! We're going,' She stated, giving the Doctor a look he was sure she had adopted from her mother. 'And that's that!'

* * *

Rose enjoyed spending time with Danny. It gave her that taste of reality she hadn't had for so long; it was good for her to help her getting used to living a 'normal' life again. Plus, he was really nice to hang around with- even if he was a bit of a flirt, she didn't mind much. She had fun with him! Not crazy fun, like with the Doctor on their adventures, but normal fun, something she knew she would have to adjust to. They has just went to see a film- it was amazing how so far in the future (they found out they were in the year 3043 on New Earth.) they still had things as normal as theatres. Sure they were pretty different to ones on Earth- there was no graffiti sprayed on the building, no crisp or sweet packets scattered on the floors, it was perfectly cleaned and sparkling white! She tried to contain her excitement about the new experience due to not wanting to seem to out of place, but she couldn't help but gawp as she sat in the theatre and was virtually interacting with the characters. It was like a game, but she was in it! Not only that, but Danny was with her and they could pick out what sort of endings they wanted for their 'movies'. She felt like she was part of some Sci-fi Earth film.

'I can't believe Alicia never confessed to Dylan before she died,' Rose muttered as they walked along a sidewalk after leaving the theatre. The ending that had happened had took her by surprise, and actually nearly made her cry!

'Are you trying to tell me you didn't know about that? I mean, it was a famous book for years! Not to mention the actress that played Alicia made a huge deal about the film before it came out,' Danny said casually, 'You must've been gone travelling for years- it was all over the news.'

'Uh- Yeah,' Rose laughed falsely. 'Yeah. We haven't really been in touch with-' She was interrupted by her phone ringing. She guessed who it was without looking and flipped it open. 'Hello, mum?'

'Alright darlin'!' A high pitched voice replied,

She went bright red and rolled her eyes.

'Doctor?' She said, trying not to laugh at his attempt to sound like her mum.

'Alright darlin!' He repeated, this time in his own voice and she could tell he was grinning.

'Yeah! We've just seen this really cool thing, right? It was like- this theatre and…' She trailed off, looking at Danny and clearing her throat. 'Uh- this- um, movie.' She smiled. She didn't want to sound too out of place!

'Ahh! Virtual theatre? They're pretty good! In a couple of hundred years they get a lot better though. You on you're way back?'

'Yeah, why?'

'I want you to do me a favour.'

Rose raised her eyes and he somehow managed to know what she was thinking.

'Not anything dangerous! Don't worry!'

'Right, what is it?'

'I need you to drop in at the hospital for me. Check on Toby, see how he's doing- if you see a woman called Roxanne Baxter just tell her I sent you, okay?'

'Roxanne what?'

Before she could ask anything more he had hung up and she was rolling her eyes again. Danny looked at her uncertainly and she gave his a cheery smile.

'Alright Danny, we're off to the hospital!'


End file.
